Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS**

[Caliburn24]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Actually this is exactly the sort of show where you analyze the realism of the show, particularly when the writers deliberately hang numerous and obvious lanterns in each episode.

I agree with the bulk of the criticisms leveled against the show, the writing is incredibly sloppy so far, and the tone of the show is all over the place.

But unlike most of the haters I am not willing to write off the show after two episodes. It has potential to improve a lot. And a lot of the critiques about this or that not being realistic will hopefully be explained later in the show.

 

[Star Wolf]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

This isn't the type of show where you analyze the realism level down to the type of firearms available and the level of fallout in the Greater Boston area. It's the contemporary equivalent of an Irwin Allen production. It's fun and dramatic-- or, as Squiggy would say, it's dramistic.

It depends what one person wants "I want with crazy-looking CGI aliens bouncing off the spaceship walls" another wants realistic battle tactics and gun porn. The Unit with aliens. I am willing to accept tactical incompetence from a bunch of survivors with hunting rifles. But for me Boston rebels carrying Galils, AKMs and mini-Uzis is the same as the bumpy forehead alien is for others. I never heard of the show Walking Dead before this but in comparison reviews I have read just the "gun porn" alone would have dropped 55% of my snark.

 

[Sindatur]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Seems to me the Day vs Night thing is simply level of threat. The Aliens have already wiped out the bulk of the population, why indiscriminately kill off the few remaining ones you have for available slavery? So, during the day, as long as you're not attacking them, you're pretty much allowed to do what you want. At night, you're less visible and therefore, more threatening, so you have to be more careful, especially if you really are doing something threatening.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

It amazes me how much people analyze every second of this kind of thing. I don't know how you guys could ever actually enjoy anything.

Some people clearly don't watch shows to enjoy them but rather to bitch about them here afterwards. (Which I've certainly been known to do - Heroes for instance - but not in this particular case.)

The alleged lead of the show just happens to be a virtual clone of Matthew Fox

You mean a clone of Jack Shephard?

No, I meant exactly what I said.

I have no idea what Matthew Fox, the person, is like in real life. And neither do you.

This isn't the type of show where you analyze the realism level down to the type of firearms available and the level of fallout in the Greater Boston area. It's the contemporary equivalent of an Irwin Allen production. It's fun and dramatic-- or, as Squiggy would say, it's dramistic.

Yep. I enjoy it on the level of sheer entertainment value. Anyone who doesn't - well, don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.

Actually this is exactly the sort of show where you analyze the realism of the show,

No it isn't, because no TV show is like that. Every one I've ever seen puts entertainment value over someone's idea of "realism" because entertainment value is what generates ratings and realism doesn't count for spit.

It depends what one person wants "I want with crazy-looking CGI aliens bouncing off the spaceship walls" another wants realistic battle tactics and gun porn.

Pretty much - which is why TV producers would be insane to worry about "realism." What constitutes "realism" varies from person to person, so when you're chasing realism in one area, someone else is bitching because their priorities are different.

Better to just hunker down and do what this show is doing: cater to very casual sci fi fans, who don't know or care anything about what's realistic for alien physiology or battle tactics, who can relate to the story of a nice guy trying to protect his family, and who are attracted by seeing better special effects than they are used to on TV. That population is large enough to support healthy ratings for a series, and that's what it's all about.

I never heard of the show Walking Dead before this

Oh you should definitely watch it when it comes back in the fall. It's definitely a few notches above this show.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Matthew Fox is a human being who willingly walked onto the set of Party of Five with a smile on his face for 4 years.

New word: "Fanimousity"

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Matthew Fox is a human being who willingly walked onto the set of Party of Five with a smile on his face for 4 years.

And got paid handsomely for it, too. For that money, I'd join the cast of a far worse show - maybe not Jersey Shore, but something a notch or two less repugnant would not be out of the question.

 

[Caliburn24]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

I'll say it again, Falling Skies is exactly the sort of show that people like to analyze for realism. And it is the fault of the writers for hanging lampshades badly all over the place.

Lampshade Hanging is the writers' trick of dealing with any element of the story that threatens the audience's willing suspension of disbelief — whether a very implausible plot development, or a particularly blatant use of a trope — by calling attention to it... and then moving on.

In simple terms - the author points out the improbable subject through some medium (character, passerby, narration, etc.) and says it exists regardless of logic.

The reason for this counter-intuitive strategy is two-fold. First, it assures the audience that the author is aware of the implausible plot development that just happened, and that they aren't trying to slip something past the audience. Second, it assures the audience that the world of the story is like Real Life: what's implausible for you or me is just as implausible for these characters, and just as likely to provoke an incredulous response.

The creators are using the tactic of self-deprecatingly pointing out their own flaws themselves, thus depriving critics and opponents of their ammunition. The Turkey City Lexicon refers to this flavor of Lampshade Hanging as a "Signal from Fred", and reminds the author that if your characters are complaining about how stupid the latest plot development is, maybe your subconscious is trying to tell you something.

On the other hand, Lampshade Hanging done well can make for an entertaining piece of Painting the Fourth Wall or momentary lack of Genre Blindness. It can also be used to take care of Fridge Logic, without having to actually do anything.

Lampshade Hanging doesn't just apply to implausible plots: it's also one of the many ways of Playing with a Trope. After all, for Genre Savvy viewers the realization that they've seen this particular plot device in five other movies can pull them out of the story faster than any Fridge Logic. Considering this wiki's focus, most of the references to Lampshade Hanging throughout the wiki will involve this specific use of the term.

This practice is also known as "hanging a clock on it", "hanging a lantern on it", or "spotlighting it". In the film industry it's sometimes called "hanging a red flag" on something, after the screenwriting adage, "To hang a red flag on something takes the curse off of it," meaning that to lampshade something decreases the negative effects it might otherwise have. We went with our title because it's the one used in the Mutant Enemy bullpen.

Can also be combined with a Hand Wave, sometimes invoking an unreveal, to make explaining a plot inconsistency unnecessary. Can also be combined with an active attempt to avoid the trope, in which case the Lampshade Hanging turns into a Defied Trope.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LampshadeHanging

All the mentions of food, weaponry(and military weaponry), ammo, alien behavior(although that will presumably come into play later), alien tactics etc are the writers hanging huge red lanterns all over the place. The problem is that a lot of those lanterns are MAJOR freaking plot points that cannot just be handwaved away.

 

[Checkmate]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

I have no idea what Matthew Fox, the person, is like in real life. And neither do you.

It's a good thing I didn't say a damn thing about his personality then, huh?

(Hey look, I can make obnoxious use of emoticons, too.)

 

[Procutus]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Wow, I'm surprised by the level of hate and bitching. I find the show quite enjoyable.

If there were 4 or 5 other shows to choose from about aliens (invading Earth or, better yet, in outer space) where the aliens weren't funny-forehead humans but rather, really exotic looking critters reminiscent of movie-quality effects, then I'd be more inclined to bitch about the show's flaws.

But given the lack of alternatives on TV, I'm finding myself being extremely lenient.

Yeah, I find myself doing much the same thing. At the moment, I have little to choose from off the Tube, so I'm willing to overlook a few logic glitches on this one until it's under way a bit more. I mean geez people, we've only seen two eps so far. A number of long-running sci-fi shows weren't all that great two or three eps in (TNG, DS9, SG-1) but over time, they found their stride and delivered entertaining episodes on a consistent basis.

 

[Checkmate]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Do you guys really think this "aww shucks, there's not much else to choose from so it's okay that it sucks; it might get better one day" argument is supposed to be reassuring or even remotely convincing? Really? Because you realize it's just like saying something equally stupid such as "aww shucks, it's okay that you were brutally assaulted during that picnic, buddy. Just think, maybe you'll never be hospitalized again in the future! So no need to press charges or anything. Lighten up and enjoy the Jell-O you have to eat for the next six weeks" don't you?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

I feel exactly the same about modern porn Checkmate.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

There's actually an abundance of stuff to watch if you have access to Netflix.

So the true reason I'm being easy on Falling Skies is because I'm catching up on The Vampire Diaries at the same time. Corny dialogue vs. annoying teen angst = corny dialogue wins by a hair. Also, aliens are inherently more interesting than vampires because aliens might play by new, unexpected rules but the rules for vamps are always the same.

I know I like Falling Skies better because unlike TVD, I don't watch for the dumbass characters whose presence onscreen means it's time to hit the ff button.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

I like FS. It is not blowing my socks off, but I am waiting to see if there is true promise.

Noah W is a good actor and seems to have an ok cast around him. I am waiting and watching.

I have only seen the first 2 eps of this show. So it has not taken up anymore of my time that the 3rd Transformer movie.

 

[Sindatur]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

I like FS. It is not blowing my socks off, but I am waiting to see if there is true promise.

Noah W is a good actor and seems to have an ok cast around him. I am waiting and watching.

I have only seen the first 2 eps of this show. So it has not taken up anymore of my time that the 3rd Transformer movie.

Well when you put it like that, Falling Skies sounds comparable to Shakespeare

NOTE: I've only seen the first Transformers Movie on TV (Which was plenty exposure for me to Transformers Movie-verse), so, for all I know the 2nd and 3rd one may be much better

 

[Electric Coleslaw]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Do you guys really think this "aww shucks, there's not much else to choose from so it's okay that it sucks; it might get better one day" argument is supposed to be reassuring or even remotely convincing? Really? Because you realize it's just like saying something equally stupid such as "aww shucks, it's okay that you were brutally assaulted during that picnic, buddy. Just think, maybe you'll never be hospitalized again in the future! So no need to press charges or anything. Lighten up and enjoy the Jell-O you have to eat for the next six weeks" don't you?

That is a stupid comparison. Saying that the enjoyment of a show despite it's flaws is the same as a physical assault? I mean...really?

 

[Sindatur]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Do you guys really think this "aww shucks, there's not much else to choose from so it's okay that it sucks; it might get better one day" argument is supposed to be reassuring or even remotely convincing? Really? Because you realize it's just like saying something equally stupid such as "aww shucks, it's okay that you were brutally assaulted during that picnic, buddy. Just think, maybe you'll never be hospitalized again in the future! So no need to press charges or anything. Lighten up and enjoy the Jell-O you have to eat for the next six weeks" don't you?

That is a stupid comparison. Saying that the enjoyment of a show despite it's flaws is the same as a physical assault? I mean...really?

Yea, I've never understood how hatred of a TV show can be so extreme to be compared to violence

"I felt like I was raped"
"I just wanted to kill the Producer for putting such crap to film"
"I want to burn every copy that was ever made and wipe it from existence"

 

[Checkmate]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

That is a stupid comparison. Saying that the enjoyment of a show despite it's flaws is the same as a physical assault? I mean...really?

At no point did I say watching the show was like being brutally assaulted. It was a comparison of logic, not substance. Here, have another.

"This food tastes like shit. Literally, I think someone went outside, scooped some up, and threw it in a frying pan for a few seconds. But it's okay! I'll eat it all up with a smile in my face, because golly gee whiz maybe the next time I come in here they won't serve me a pile of steaming hot shit to eat. Om nom nom!"

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Yea, I've never understood how hatred of a TV show can be so extreme to be compared to violence

"I felt like I was raped"
"I just wanted to kill the Producer for putting such crap to film"
"I want to burn every copy that was ever made and wipe it from existence"

That's because you haven't seen Transformers II.

 

[Sindatur]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

Yea, I've never understood how hatred of a TV show can be so extreme to be compared to violence

"I felt like I was raped"
"I just wanted to kill the Producer for putting such crap to film"
"I want to burn every copy that was ever made and wipe it from existence"

That's because you haven't seen Transformers II.

Heh, you got me there, seeing the first one on TV a couple weekends ago was plenty enough exposure for me.

 

[keith2112]

Re: Falling Skies 1.2 "Prisoner of War" discussion/comments **SPOILERS

its only going to get canceled with no conclusion like all the other good sifi lately v outcast the event just to name a few